The invention relates to an amplifier arrangement comprising a first output transistor and a second output transistor of the same conductivity type whose collector-emitter paths are arranged in series between two power-supply terminals, the emitter of the first transistor and the collector of the second transistor being coupled to an output terminal for connection to a load, means for obtaining a quiescent current in the first output transistor and the second output transistor, and a voltage-to-current converter having a first input connected to an input terminal for receiving an input voltage, a second input connected to the output terminal, and a first output connected to the second transistor for supplying to the second output transistor a first driving current which is proportional to the input voltage, the voltage-to-current converter together with the second output transistor and the load operating as a first amplifier configuration which receives full negative feedback for first driving currents which cause the second transistor to become more conductive.
Such an amplifier arrangement may be used for general purposes and is particularly suitable for use in audio circuits.
Such an arrangement is employed in the Philips integrated audio amplifier which is commercially available under type number IC TDA 1514 at the time of filing of the present application. In this amplifier a small quiescent current flows in the output transistors, so that the amplifier operates in class A-B. The input voltage is applied directly to the base of the first transistor. The voltage-to-current converter converts the resulting increase or decrease of the base-emitter voltage of this transistor into a driving current, which is applied to the base of the second output transistor in such a way that the second output transistor is driven in push-pull with the first output transistor.
In this way the first output transistor is driven further into conduction and the second output transistor is almost cut off for positive input voltages and the first output transistor is almost cut off and the second output transistor is driven further into conduction for negative input voltages. If the second output transistor receives a positive drive distortion of the output voltage as a result of the non-linearity of the second output transistor is very low, because this second output transistor together with the voltage-to-current converter and the load then operates as an amplifier configuration which receives full negative feedback. In the case of a positive drive of the first output transistor distortion of the output voltage as a result of the non-linearity of the first output transistor is reduced by positive feedback, the difference between the input voltage and the output voltage being added to the input voltage as an error-correction signal. However, this positive feedback has the disadvantage that it requires a critical design of the arrangement, because otherwise instabilities are liable to occur.